My kids are often cute. This is one of those times.

So, one of Bruise and Bucket's Primary leaders told me about their actions in Primary today.

Bruise was asked "Who is your favorite prophet?"

Bruise: "That's really hard to decide. I have two of them."

"Well, can you tell us which ones those are?"

Bruise: "Thomas S. Monson and Captain Moroni."

"Why are they your favorites?"

Bruise: "I really like President Monson's stories."


Later, Bucket was chosen to pop a balloon.

Class: "STOMP ON IT! SIT ON IT!!"

Zoë: (to leader) " ... Can I just have a pin?"

Yeah, my kids are funny ... for the most part. And cute.

Some cute things

After my last post got kind of heavy, I figured that we needed some levity.

(Cue Auntie Mame belting "We Need a Little Christmas" ... but not exactly.)

So, yesterday, while Michael was on his commute home, there was traffic. Like adding 20 minutes to his 45-minute commute.

As I hung up with him, Bubbles was asking where Daddy was.

Me: He's stuck in traffic, sweetie. There's a lot of cars that aren't moving much right now.

Bubbles: *gasps* Dat's not KIND!

Me: And there were two fire trucks and an ambulance. People probably got hurt.

Bubbles: Oh no! Dat's bad! Not kind!


So... she's got the idea that bad = not kind.
Which isn't a bad way to think about it.
Since I figure that if I teach my kids to respect others and be kind and to love them, well, the world will be a better place for it.

Also, Bubbles went everywhere in her Princess Sofia dress, dress-up shoes, and crown yesterday.
It was pretty adorable ... something that only a toddler can really pull off (because those shoes are SMALL).

As she practiced dancing in the front room, she'd conclude her dance number.

Bubbles: Okay. Say "yaaaaaay" and clap hands!

Me: "Yaaaaaay!!" *claps*

Bubbles: Good job! Good job, Mommy! You did it!


Everyone's mentioning that she's talking a lot more and much better.
She's a funny little munchkin.

That boy of mine ...

Monday, Bruise brought in a package that was left on the porch.

"Meeesis Alooooooona [Naaeeeeeeme]" (Mrs. Allanna [Name]).
And, his fancy pronunciation was funny enough that he cracked HIMSELF up with it.

Good times, good times.

International Night and other things to catch up on ...

Yes, I suck (at blogging on a more regular basis). And I don't really have any good excuses.

I mean, for a week or so, my house WAS cleaner and all ... but that's no longer the case. Ha ha ha....

So, I last blogged on the tenth, my Aunt J's birthday.
She enjoyed our little serenade.

Bucket's had her activity days for the month. On the first one, they wrote letters to missionaries. This last week, they learned to knit and crochet a little. She mostly, though, has used her yarn to ... string across the hallway or around the kitchen.
Mommy does not approve of that.

Bruise has had most of his Cub Scout meetings (until the Blue and Gold at the end of the month). He's having fun, which is good.

Mom and J came up last week for J's birthday celebration. We went out to lunch and then J and I got mani/pedis while Mom watched V (her idea, my mom's that is!) ... and I had to skedaddle from the mall to the house, where Bruise and Bucket were waiting outside (Bruise had to pee in the bushes) and then they scrambled into the car and we drove back to meet Mom and J at the mall. Good times, good times when I forget my phone at home and can't see a clock!

I made J's favorite dish of mine (pasta carbonara) for dinner. And we watched "The Holiday" after the kids went to bed (since I couldn't find a copy of "Austenland" at Target, since she would have enjoyed that).

Friday, I drove the kids to school, along with one of my friend's kids to another school across town. And, since Michael was home, I was able to manage to pick up her kids ... since Michael was able to meet our kids at home. So that worked well.

Saturday was going to be really busy (Children's Performance - acrobat/juggler guy, then the Mall's Kids' club in the morning. Then a movie date with friends. And Michael and I had a date night), but we had to cancel the morning plans so that Bruise and Bucket would actually get their room clean. It was a disaster in there.
I ended up leaving at one point to go to Target (partly to run an errand for my mom, partly to get OUT OF THE HOUSE) ... I returned with discounted V-day chocolates for Michael and me, a hand lotion, and a medicinal Cherry Coke. Good times.

We made it to the movie -- we LOVE The LEGO Movie. Totally recommend it. I've already pre-ordered it.

Michael and I went to the Valentine's Dinner and Dance that was at church. We got to sit and talk with some friends from other wards (congregations), which was awesome. Then, after the dinner, we danced one dance, had some punch ... and went to Wal-Mart. I found Michael a DVD (4-in-1: Dune, Battlestar Gallactica, The Last Starfighter, and Flash Gordon. ... Yes, I know, I'm the BESTEST wife ever.) and we picked up Subway. Then I ran our babysitter home and we ate our sandwiches and watched Ender's Game.

Yup, we are SO romantical.

Sunday, we called my Nana for her 83rd birthday. Had to make a few calls, turns out she was staying with my Dad and L for her birthday. So, we serenaded THEIR answering machine (to Nana's delight). The rest of the day was church and choir and getting garbage out to the curb. Fun times!

Nothing much happened on Monday ... in fact, I've been really lazy this week. As you'd be able to tell if you looked at the state of the house. #notgonnalie

Tuesday, there was the RS (women's group) activity during Activity Days. An officer in our Stake (group of congregations) taught us about personal safety and self-defense. It was pretty good.
Of course, I was sitting next to a friend and, at one point, he was talking about how --if needed-- you COULD cut off the carotid arteries -- after six seconds, your attacker would lose consciousness, giving you the chance to get away (though, by doing it, you take the chance of loosening any plaque in the arteries, which could lead to a heart blockage ... so he does NOT recommend practicing it on people), and I leaned over to AG and whispered, "IT'S THE VULCAN DEATH GRIP!!" and she snickered back, "I KNOW!!"

Michael took Bruise to his last Den Meeting of the month ... and picked up Austenland for me at Target. It's really cute. Doesn't always follow the book ... but very cute. I'm looking forward to showing it to Mom and J.

Yesterday was International night at the kids' school. Their grade was assigned Europe, so the classes did the United Kingdom (Bucket helped on making a little Union Jack flag with another classmate. She said that cutting out all the red stripes was HARD.), Spain (Bruise cut out some pictures of food), and the other class did Belgium.

Since we were requested (not required) to bring a potluck dish, I looked up Spanish foods and made Magdalenes. I'd never heard of them before ... but the recipe is really simple (Bruise and Bucket helped). They're lemon cupcakes (sugar, eggs, butter, lemon peel [I used lemon extract, since I didn't have any lemons], milk, flour, baking powder ... sprinkle with sugar before baking). They're really just a sweet lemon muffin. A lemon glaze would be nice on them, too.

And the kids all performed some songs and dances from their assigned continent.
They sang a song from Spain ... don't ask me what it is called or is about.
They sang "Mein Hut hat drei Ecken"/"My Hat Has Three Corners" (with hand motions!) ... because, um, a song from England/Scotland/Wales/N. Ireland wouldn't be fun? I don't know. But Bruise and Bucket were impressed that I knew what the song meant. Three+ years of German will do that! Even if it WAS over a decade ago...
They also did a dance from Belgium. If I could have heard what the kids were reading, I might be able to tell you what it was called. But it involved couples holding hands and promenading forward, backwards, then joining arms and spinning to and fro, then stopping and doing some epic jazz-hands/arms like a diva.
Very cute.

And we stopped and got milkshakes on the way home, since most of us were still hungry.
I think Bucket's undergoing a growth spurt ... or she just REALLY wanted a burrito. We discussed where to eat and she suggested burritos. Bruise wanted milkshakes. We agreed on milkshakes. And, after getting home Bucket broke down in tears that we didn't also get burritos.
(Meanwhile, little Bubbles has STOLEN Michael's milkshake. ... She also announced, when I got to the bottom of mine, "Ahh gohh[n]!!" She CAN talk!!)

Michael was pretty impressed by how many people said hi to Bubbles (Obligatory MG quote: "She doesn't even go here!") ... but, as I reasoned, when I wore her to school when I volunteered for a few months, people get to know her. If nothing else, she'll feel right at home when she starts Kindergarten in another three years, right?

Today, I got (mostly) caught up on dishes. I need to get a shower. I need to read about a bazillion books. I need Bubbles to take her nap. The kids, after school, will be going to Grandma and Grandpa's. We get to go to the temple. That'll be nice.

I think that's really about everything to report ...

The Birthday Extravaganza ...

So, my babies are eight. We had their birthday party. I made it through church. And it's already Monday ...

Let's get caught up:

• After the kids got home from school (during which time, I wrapped their presents), we went out to dinner (Red Robin ... their choice. And I REMEMBERED to print out the coupons I had for their kids' meals. Phew! And they ate and were serenaded and got free dessert).
  When we got home, though, Bruise had a stomach ache.
  So, two doses of Emetrol and a dose of Kids Pepto later, it was all fine. And we all watched Gremlins (except Bubbles, who was exhausted).
• Saturday morning, I woke up and checked my email (the plus side of sleeping next to one's smartphone). Dad and L had emailed that morning, about a half-hour ago, asking if they could come up for lunch and leave around 3. I called them back to say, "sure," but that we're leaving the house by 2:30, since we needed to be at the bowling alley by 3.
• They came up, bearing Arby's. We ate, the kids played with presents from Dad and L (flying sock monkeys ahoy!), and we watched Despicable Me 2 ... and they took off.
• We made a stop by the grocery store and picked up ice cream (and other supplies, in case folks wanted to stop by our place afterwards ... which is why the house was cleaner than it had been! ... And I had a plate of cookies set out. And a bowl of Pirate's Booty. JUST IN CASE.)
• Drove to the bowling alley and got settled in for the party.

The party went REALLY well. It was nice to have someone else in change of food, cake, and entertainment. Michael kept an eye on the kids bowling (Bruise, Bucket, Cousins -B,I,C, and H-, and school friends T, D, F, J, and K. Bubbles kept her grandmas (Mom and Mom C) and my Aunt J and stepdad busy. Michael's brother, J, and Dad C bowled, too.

The kids liked the pizza and soda and cake (we supplied ice cream) ... the hardest part for me, was trying to socialize with everyone and then the mad dash of getting everyone pizza and then cake and ice cream. And trying to take pictures (Cosmic Bowling = VERY low light situation. Yay for the DSLR from Michael a few years ago).

It was REALLY fun. And I did enjoy getting to chat with T and D's moms. We all know each other from PTC and volunteering and our kids being friends ... and, since I haven't been called to volunteer in the classroom this year, I barely see them.

The kids got lots of presents ... including their own tablets.

Once we got home, we compiled a list and wrote thank you notes ... most of which have been mailed off.
I still have three here for family. And the rest have been taken to school so that their teacher can make sure that their friends get them.

Between everything, I was tuckered out.

Yesterday, I substituted in Nursery again. I can tell you that Bubbles is NOT a fan of sharing toys. We'll work on that.
However I DID get to color a picture (and Pam [I visit teach her, we're friends, AND she's the nursery leader in our ward/congregation] made sure to label my picture with my name. "A-L-L-A-N-N-A. Looks like 'all anna.' SAY IT RIGHT." Which made me laugh.) ... AND, after one boy knocked down the tables (folded up) that were leaning against the wall, all the kids started stomp-dancing on their impromptu stage.
There were two other moms in there to witness. And we all took pictures and/or video. Good times.

Yesterday, the kids played with their tablets (and dolls and games) while Bubbles napped.

And I worked with Bruise on his Bobcat Trail (Cub Scouts), which he has to do before he can earn any other awards. So, well, we need to get that done. Since he REALLY wants to earn some badges.

Today, I got up, got a shower right away so that I could be sure to pick up a friend on time to give her a ride.
I threw a load in the dishwasher and a load in the washer (or "worsher" as I tend to say it, thanks to my Nana).
And then Bubbles and I went grocery shopping after giving my friend a ride. She (Bubbles) got to pick out some yogurt-covered pretzels.

And ... well, that's been my day so far. I should finish laundry before the kids get home. Clean out the kitchen sink and finish the dishes. Figure out dinner (but I got a treat for after FHE [Family Home Evening] planned!) and maybe read my book. Obviously, exercising is falling by the wayside again. Unless you count grocery shopping, which I really don't.

When the kids get home, we'll work on memorizing the Articles of Faith (looks like we've got the first four of thirteen covered ... just NINE more, right?) and making sure that Bruise still has the Cub Scout Promise and Law of the Pack fresh in his head.

But what I really want to do is just curl up in bed with a book. Or maybe curl up in a hot bath with a book and a facial mask. And repaint my toenails.

But I have to change the catbox first.

Happy 2014!

I'm blogging ... and it's not even been a whole WEEK between blogs.

Shocker, right?

Well, hey, at least I'm getting a good start to the new year, right?

So, let's get all caught up.

Sunday was church. We brought snack for the Nursery class (Fig Newtons and string cheese. Snack of CHAMPIONS. Or, at least, it's something that the kids will eat). Then we just had a kinda lazy day at home ... to recuperate from BOTH Michael and me having to speak in the fifth Sunday lesson (where, usually, all the folks NOT teaching in Primary [childrens' classes] meet together.)

Monday, we cleaned up the house. Michael took Bruise and Bucket's baptism invitations to be printed. We went grocery shopping and delivered a meal to a family in the ward. I addressed envelopes and got the kids' baptism invites into the mail. I made sure that the kids' birthday invites were emailed out (and their teacher will help in inviting some of their school friends that I DON'T have contact information for).

Tuesday, we went to Costco after taking down the Christmas decorations. The kids played outside with a neighbor (except for Bubbles who took a nap. FINALLY) until we took them to Mom and Dad C's for a sleepover with some cousins ... which freed up OUR New Year's Eve.

So, we had an evening without kids ... what should we do?

GO WILD AND CRAZY!!
We bought dinner at Safeway (Chinese food wraps ... and I had my Cherry Coke to help me stay awake during out late night out) and hit the local, closing Blockbuster ... bought a few movies.
Then we got our tickets ... we watched The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug first.
I have to say that the fight choreographer has QUITE the sense of humor.
Very good. We liked it.
Then we went to Fred Meyer to kill some time ... and I found a copy of mental_floss to buy. (Yay!!)
And back to the theater to watch The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. We got discount popcorn and a free soda (And they had Cherry Coke! Yay! No ice, because I want Cherry Coke, not gross watered-down soda) ... which, since I'm not so used to THAT much caffeine (yes, two cokes for me = more than I'm used to. What? I'm a lightweight in that way.), I noticed that my heart was racing a bit after the Quarter Quell began.
We enjoyed both movies a lot.

Then we went to bed ...

And I was dead to the world until almost 8:30 this morning.
After we got up, we watched our Netflix DVD (The Wolverine) ... then we got ready for Mom and Dad C to bring the kids back.

And, since we were hungry, we went out for lunch.
And then went back home and played SongParty on the WiiU.

And I'm exhausted.

The other day, I had my legs across Bucket's lap.
She let me do that, sweet girl. ... Then ...

Bucket: Oh, look. Here's the line from where you wore your socks too long. Aww.
And it feels like you have a rash. ... Oh, wait. That's just that you haven't shaved your legs.

Yup, that's my girl.

I don't know where she'd learn anything like that ...

Like how, as I was exhausted, Michael challenged me to describe string theory.

My answer?

Well, you take a bunch of yarn. Or threads. And you make hypotheses and test them. And it involves Physics. ... But you can't KNOW. Because it's STRING THEORY. If you KNEW, then it'd be STRING LAW.

Yup, he's so lucky to have me.

I still need to figure a time to use the elliptical on a regular basis. And when to read scriptures and such.
And I want to get caught up (again) on laundry and dishes. And plan meals.

But, hey, at least we're pretty prepared for the kids' baptism and birthday.
Now to plan Bubbles' birthday.

And Mom C is talking of convincing everyone to come home a day early from their vacation to make the kids' baptism ... It'd be nice.

Also, yesterday, I received news that one of our past bishops and neighbors passed away.
Nelson lived down the road from my folks' house. He was also one of our Home Teachers.
He was always very kind and helpful.
He and Betty, his wife, were at my mom and stepdad's wedding.
Before that, when the wiring at our house was wonky, he came and helped work on it ... and, mistaking the sound of his footsteps, I called him "Mom."
He leaves behind a wonderful, large family with many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. And many friends.
But I know that we'll get to see him again. Not immediately ... but sooner than later.

And he'll have all his fingers. And his body will be strong and healthy again.
And that'll be nice.

End the Cricket Chorus!

Wow ... it's been a month and THREE DAYS since I last posted.

I promise that I haven't died ... This isn't my zombified, undead corpse posting.
(But how would you REALLY know? ... Well, I did shower, so I don't smell like rotting corpse-flesh, so that's in my favor, right?)

Um, let's see ... what all have I failed to tell you all since I last posted?
(A lot. I know.)

Freyja-cat got her shots all caught up. And I got a nifty little spray bottle of topical steroid, since my cat has issues and had over-groomed to the point that she's missing a LOT of fur around the base of her tail.
Good times.
Besides that, the vet and assistant remarked on her overall good health and good behavior.
Bucket was thrilled that we all got to go (Well, besides Michael), so that she, Bruise, and Bubbles could all pet the Sphynx cat at the vet's office. (Yes, my proclivity of adoring that breed is, apparently, hereditary. I don't see us owning one, since our heating bills would be WAY higher. But I do like them a lot.)

But I'm getting all out of order here ...

Let me sum up. There is too much. And it probably won't really be in order anyways.
I'd say sorry ... but we all know that I'm just too lazy to actually REMEMBER all the crap I've been up to.

But you know what? I'm gonna TRY. I have my calendar open. I'll check on Facebook to help fill in the blanks ... we'll see how it goes.

• So, have I mentioned previously that I was able to get together with my friend, T, and her son (and my brood) to watch the local Veterans' Day Parade? Well, we did! And it was fun. And I got a decent parking spot and a decent sitting spot and we made it through the after-parade traffic easily enough. (PHEW!)
• Our Stake (geographical group of wards/local congregations) had its "Super Saturday" ... I was pretty busy, so I only went to the candymaking demonstration. And it was very fun to get to chat with friends there. And I got to take candies home. And they were DELICIOUS.
  It was worth having to have Michael jump the van (a light had been left on in the van. D'oh!)
• There was a Kids' Club activity last month at the mall where the kids got to make a little photo frame and placemats for Thanksgiving. Michael took Vesper to play in the mall's new play area. She approves. ^_^ (I since have also taken her to play there for a little. She loves it.)
• We also picked up the kids (Bruise and Bucket's) ceramic stuff over at the local pottery-painting place. They turned out very well. Bucket painted an owl (and Bubbles will point to it and go "Whoo! Whoo!") and Bruise painted/drew (with a little help) a barn on a tile.
  I had the forethought to put their names and the year in puffy paint on them. It helped the owner to find them (and it'll help us to remember when they made them).
• Bruise lost his front teeth. However, he refuses to sing about all he wants for Christmas is those teeth.
  But he looks ADORABLE. Especially with his new haircut.
• Mom and I sent off a book order ... which arrived on Friday. I should wrap up those, huh?
• Michael and I went and watched the new Thor movie. Very good.
  Now, we need to see "Catching Fire" and take the kids to "Frozen."
• The weekend before Thanksgiving, Michael got a little ill. Then, when he was at home (from work, since he wasn't feeling well), he put out his back. Just turned the wrong way. Missed a week of work, really. (I took him to the office after a doctor's appointment on Thursday. That was after going to Urgent Care on Tuesday. Modern medicine is very nice.)
• Bubbles and I went to a Duplo Party at Jenny's ... had a great time. It's nice to be social (even when I forget how. Ha ha ...). We even ran into Bri and her childREN (her son was only two weeks old).
  Bubbles said her first REAL sentence: "Iza BABY!"/It's a baby! ... I was impressed (BEHOLD THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP, amirite?). Good times. I've missed my ladies.
• I got my flu shot ... made Bruise and Bucket watch me. AGAIN.
  They got theirs a few days later ... and it went SO MUCH BETTER.
  Michael's the only holdout now ... but he got his dTap, so I'll count that as success, right?
• I made it to November's PTC (Parent-Teacher Committee) meeting.
  And Michael and I went to the arena-style Parent-Teacher conferences.
  (Summary: Bruise and Bucket are good students. They're both reading well. Bruise's Spanish skills are not as strong as his other skills. Also, he totally aced [100%] the math assessment. Bucket's scores are good, too. She's a bit stronger in reading [100% accuracy on a section in DIBELS] ... So, yeah, I guess I don't NEED to worry about that ... for now. We'll see how middle school goes, right?)
• I went to Dawn's doTERRA party. And, well, I need to order myself some oils (After the last couple weeks, I wonder why I didn't do that right away. Oy.)
  Also, in related news, if you need a pumpkin roll or the most amazing apple dip ever? Go to Dawn.
  Just trust me on this, okay?
• The kids were off for the week of Thanksgiving. We didn't do a whole lot, really. Mom came up Monday after the kids and I Visit Taught some friends. (And talked a LOT about Once Upon a Time (I'm still in early Season One. I know, my bad.) and books and things.)
• Thanksgiving was at Mom and Dad C's house.
  After dinner, we worked on crafts (making ornaments and decorations for Christmas).
  It was really fun. Too bad that T2's family couldn't make it this year.
• We braved a little of Black Friday ... and found that he had a flat (got it filled to see if it needed to be fixed or just due to the weather). I got my dang socks at Fred Meyer (it's TRADITION, okay??) and checked out a couple other stores ... but, goodness, it was crazy. I got my free cookbook at Costco and we headed home and put in a Kohl's order online (Michael needed a new suit. It arrived last week. It's REALLY NICE. The Anglophile in me wants to believe it's that nice JUST because those Brits know how to make and wear a suit. *nods*). ...With the Kohl's bucks that I earned, I got myself an enameled cast iron oven for just $5 out of pocket. *preens* It's GORGEOUS.
• We took the kids to Home Depot the next day to one of the Kids' Workshops they have. They ended up making more than one type of kit ... so we have some boats and a picture frame and a pencil box and these lawn-mower-shaped pencil holders.
  Michael and I picked up a set of shelves (and then another set) so we have a matching-kind of entertainment center thing (Three sets of shelves ... the one in the middle is shorter, but they're all the same color and it looks SO much sharper. ... And I took the other shelf that didn't match (from my Nana) and put it in our bedroom ... more room for books! SCORE!
  But, yeah, with those new shelves and the newer bookshelves that we picked up in, um, maybe September? ... Our house is starting to look like a HOUSE, not just someplace designed with wedding gifts and Salvation Army in mind. :P

That brings us to December!
(No wonder I feel like we've been busy!)

Okay, so here's the rundown for December:

• Bruise was assigned the Primary talk for December 1st. Of COURSE, the December issues of The Friend (the Church's children's magazine) wasn't delivered by then.
  So, we looked up the theme for the month and wrote a talk based on that. I made him tell me what he wanted in it and all.
  He got quite a few compliments (as did I) on how well he did. 
• I put in my order for my friend, T's, Scentsy party (It's already arrived). My house smells so much better for that. ^_^
• Bubbles and I headed up and visited my friend Roxy for her birthday (and also because she's not been in perfect health). We had a good time. Roxy and I rocked out, playing SongStar, to Queen (and some other songs ... but mostly Queen). And we ate DELICIOUS Thai food (She was impressed at Bubbles' advanced palate. ;P). Good times ... and I JUST made it back home before the kids got home from school. PHEW!!!!
• Then the snow started ... and Friday, we were pretty much stuck at home. The roads and traffic were bad enough that Bruise and Bucket missed their friend's birthday party.
  To help alleviate the tears, Michael and Bruise walked to the store and picked up dinner (frozen Taquitos, soda, and ice cream) ... And we watched shows and read stories and played in the snow a little.
• Those taquitos, though ... Oy. Friday night was the start of what I have taken to calling The Vomit Chronicles (or, in my lighter moments, "The Chronic-WHAT-cles of Nausea" ... yes, that's an SNL reference. You're welcome.)
  It started with Bucket throwing up ... lots. She ended up in bed with us ... and threw up on the floor in our room on her way to the bathroom. AFTER she threw up on the bath mats in THEIR bathroom.
  Between her ... and then Bubbles, throwing up in HER bed twice, we called it a night ... and we stopped trying to sleep in our bedrooms at 4:30 AM.
  It was a Saturday, we had a Netflix DVD that we'd like to get in the mail before 9 AM ... So, we woke Bruise up and we all huddled under blankets on the couch (kids and me) or the recliner (Michael and Bubbles) and watched Mortal Instruments:City of Bones (or, as Bruise and Bucket describe it "That movie with all the demons that we watched when [Bucket] puked seven times and it was REALLY EARLY in the morning? That movie.")
  Michael was nauseated. I threw up (foam. You're welcome. Yeah, you REALLY wanted to know that) ... partly from sympathy. Bruise was the only one untouched.
• We were all feeling better and made it to the Ward (Congregation) Christmas party ... Michael was in charge of food ... so we didn't get to be together as a family for much of the evening. And, at the end, I was trying to help out in the kitchen and get things DONE so that we could go HOME (tired kids. Tired parents) and Bucket, running around after Bubbles, threw up in the hallways AND a classroom. (I kept hearing people for the next week, extending sympathy for Bubbles throwing up in the church. Nope. Wrong daughter. It was my older one.)
  SO, I got THAT cleaned up (apparently not well enough, since people could still smell it. JOY) and we were able to get back home to sleep.
• We've had church choir RIGHT after church the last couple weeks. It's been a good thing, though. Even though Bubbles SORELY NEEDS a nap, we were able to more than DOUBLE the amount of people in ward choir. Phew! Because I was getting a little nervous about being the ONLY soprano (besides Dianne, our choir leader).
• Monday, Michael took the last of the taquitos to work.
  Partly to TEST and see if that really WAS what caused The Vomit Chronicles.
  And partly because he just REALLY WANTED taquitos.
  The answer to the first sentence was YES. OH MY YES.
  He came home halfway through the day. It was NOT GOOD.
  In the morning, the kids and I went to a local used bookstore and got a present for their cousin's birthday. We were back by the time Michael came home.
  And, yes, I probably bought too much ... if such a thing is possible.
  I ditched the kids (still off from school) while Bubbles took a nap and drove around one of my Visiting Teaching sisters, since she doesn't have a car and it was SO cold and snowy outside.
  After I got back, we loaded up to go see the Nativity Festival ... but, it wasn't nearly as good of an experience as we had hoped.
  Gastronomical distress necessitated my running into a store and getting some MUCH needed supplies.
  We were going to go out for burgers afterwards ... the kids settled for grilled cheese at home (and a promise that we'd go out the NEXT evening).
  By the end of the night, I was about ready to cry.
• Bubbles had been throwing up about every night/every other night in her bed. In other words, I got caught up on laundry.
• Tuesday, we went to Storytime with Santa at the mall ... all the kids, since they were still off from school.
  In the evening, after Michael got back, we went to Red Robin for dinner.
  A MUCH BETTER evening than the one before (even though it was SO NICE to meet up with friends from past wards at the Nativity Festival).
• Wednesday, my mom wasn't able to come up ... between being sick AND the roads being awful, it wasn't going to happen. We went to Storytime at the library instead. We got Bruce's hair cut. We let a friend take a shower at our place. And we cleaned the house a LITTLE (they cleaned their room!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!!!! AFTER MUCH THREATENING AND NAGGING!!!!!!!!) and read some books.
• Thursday, we CLEANED THE HOUSE and I finished making dinner for the missionaries (they came over for dinner): Turkey enchiladas (gluten-free), spanish rice, salad, and apple-cherry juice.
  I took the kids out in the afternoon, though, for the promised doughnuts, if we had a snow day AND we got the house clean. They were delicious.
• Starting Friday, there's been an end to The Vomit Chronicles (don't let me have jinxed that).
  The kids actually had school. Michael and I got some shopping done when he came home from work. Picked up the kids' book order (PRESENTS!!) ... Then we got them ready for a sleepover that evening, after Michael helped set up for a wedding at the church.
  And I borrowed my SIL(A)'s DVDs of Doctor Who.
  Michael, Bubbles, and I finished watching Series/Season 5 ... Now, to watch Season 6  (on Netflix), then to watch A's DVDs. And I'll be caught up ... for a little bit.
• Saturday, we took Bubbles to Breakfast with Santa at the mall (She may have been the youngest one there!) ... It went well. We went home and relaxed, then headed up to the family party for our niece. Then we headed back for that wedding that Michael had started setting up for. (The food there was AMAZING.)
• Sunday was busy. Michael had meetings in the morning.The kids and I took the van to church. We had choir right after church. Then we had Tithing Settlement ... Michael took the kids home after that and I gave a ride home to a friend. Of course, our Bishop had things come up, so there was some rearranging of appointments ... I called a friend to let her know she could get to her appointment early. Yeah, between the financial clerk and me, we got things taken care of. Yeah, I'm totally an unofficial secretary. *rolls eyes*
  We then delivered stuff for our day of the 12 Days of Christmas that our ward is doing.
  Went home and watched a Netflix DVD ... and headed back to the church for the Stake Fireside.
  Bubbles had to be held by Michael the whole time (no nap) ... so it wasn't as fun for him.
  

Aaaaaaaand that brings us to today ... where I am suffering some of the effects of less-than-optimal amounts of sleep. Apparently, my body decided that having the appropriate amounts of flora in my lady bits was SO last week. (Thrush! NOT YAY!) ... But since I caught it early, it's not as hideous and horrendous as it could be. Still, I hate it. So, yeah.

I should be cleaning up the kitchen and finishing up laundry. Instead, I got a shower, read "Gotham by Gaslight," got Bubbles down from being stuck in Bucket's bunk, and wrote this!
I should also go out and get some Christmas shopping done. And wrap presents! But I am feeling NOT AT ALL motivated.
(Maybe I'll run those errands AFTER the kids get home from school. They won't take long.
Then I can wrap presents NOW and do the dishes. Laundry is always ongoing, so that's okay. And I can make Bucket's bed AFTER Bubbles is done with her nap. That could work. We'll see.)

Okay. I think that's really everything that I NEED to share. And plenty that didn't need to be shared, just for good measure.

I can haz naptimez plz?

I'm not dead. I swear!

Okay ... again (like usual), it's been a while since I last blogged.

Which just means that -- hey! -- there's stuff to blog about, right? ... Um ... yeah. Sure.

Okay, so Halloween. Let's start there.
Michael and I were not cool. We didn't dress up at all.
I HAD perused a couple stores to find a decent pirate-hat. No dice.
So, between THAT failure and my gimp ankle, I didn't have the energy or motivation or wherewithal to do anything.

The kids did dress up.
Bruise was a robot-ninja from Power Rangers (No, we don't watch the show. But the costume SPOKE to him. He wanted to be a gold or white ninja -- and we only had red or cobra ninja costumes -- SO.)
Sadly, the mask covered his adorably handsome face, so we think he didn't get AS much candy as previous years.

Bucket opted to be Skelita Calaveras (from Monster High). We did NOT invest in the official costume.
For less money, we got a "white skellington" costume (leggings, long-sleeved shirt, gloves, and wispy grey skirt) AND a pink animal-print skirt (that she can wear as a regular wardrobe item) and I sprayed her hair darker with orange-gel highlights (Instead of dropping another $20 on a wig). And I did her Dia de los Muertas makeup ... which turned out pretty darn well.
(In fact, in all humblebrag, the gal taking pictures at the mall said [and posted on facebook] that they should get me to do facepainting for them ... which kind of freaks me out. Because doing makeup for ONE girl is totally different than doing small bits on MULTIPLE children. Seriously, I got Bucket's hair-and-makeup down to about a half-hour [It'd have been less if I had a stage-type white base. Whenever I'd touch her face (to do eyeliner or anything, I'd have to redo where my finger had been, since the white creme base had rubbed completely off)] ... So, apparently, I need to practice face-painting so I'll have a marketable skill.)

Bubbles was an owl ... in the same costume as last year. And it fit MUCH better.
And she LOVED the trick-or-treating at the mall.
You could just about see her thought-pattern: "What are you telling me? You're saying that if I go up to those strangers with my bucket, they'll just GIVE ME CANDY? Seriously? BEST DAY EVER."
And, since she's a tiny thing, a lot of the folks giving out candy would just hold their bowls out to her and laugh as she grabbed HUGE (for her) handfuls.

So, Michael had come home early from work, which was WONDERFUL. As soon as I had Bucket's makeup done, we skedaddled to the mall. Then we went to a neighbor's house (she ALWAYS has great treats and personally asks us to come by). After that, Bruise and Bucket ran into the house to go through their loot.
We could have gone to a local high school's trunk-or-treat or to a shindig thrown by a local church ... but the kids were happy enough to just go through their candy and eat pizza rolls. So, we did that and watched the Disney version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (complete with bonus Bing Crosby).

Since, as I mentioned, I still have a bum ankle, I wasn't terribly heartbroken that I didn't have to gimp about for the rest of the night. (I'd have sent Michael out with the older ones. Bubbles and I would have just chillaxed and gone to bed early.)

After the kids went to bed, we watched an episode of BBC's Jekyll ... we're now about halfway through it (only six episodes). It's gotten better as it's gone along. (Still there's a bit of language. Which isn't THAT surprising, since it's British ... but, yeah, not for children. Definitely not.)

And that was Halloween.

The next day, Bubbles and I made it to the school assembly (for MOST of the assembly -- Bubbles was NOT HAVING ANY OF IT, cranky girl) to see Bucket receive a Student of the Month Award.
It was much nicer NOT being on crutches for this assembly (as opposed to last month's, where Bruise got a Reading award ... and I was in tears trying to get around. *sigh*).

This assembly was much better organized. (They opted to have the [noisy] Kindergarteners have their OWN assembly. And the 3rd-5th graders had their own assembly in the afternoon in the gym, which is much larger. There were LOTS more places for parents to sit. And the volume level was MUCH better.)

The kids cleaned their room. And they've worked VERY hard to keep it clean. They've made it a WHOLE WEEK. They need to tidy it up today ... but I'm very impressed.

Even though it's been chilly outside, I've been letting them play outside with some neighbor kids most days. Might as well, until it gets too cold, right?

Bubbles isn't very happy about that. I should take her to the play area at the mall, so she can get some wiggles out.

Last week was pretty low-key. We took the kids to a frozen yogurt shop for FHE (Family Home Evening) to celebrate/commemorate Bucket's Student-of-the-Month award (We like to celebrate with ice cream/frozen yogurt).
We cleaned up the house Tuesday. My mom came up Wednesday (and had to leave VERY early Thursday morning). Thursday, I was out late, since I went to a THRIVE (food storage/emergency preparedness supplies) party at a friend's house ... and stayed chatting with her and her friend (now a facebook friend) for about two hours. Good times.
(Seriously, I NEEEEEED to order a #10 can of those pomegranate yogurt bites. Yummmm. And the freeze-dried double chocolate swirl ice cream is rather amazeballs, too. Truly, I was pretty dang impressed with everything I tried. ... So I want to try the freeze-dried asparagus. FOR SCIENCE.)

Friday, Michael and I went out for a lunch date (with Bubbles). Yay for Red Robin (Bubbles LOVES their Sweet potato fries. I can't complain, either! I had the French Onion soup and BTLA (Ham, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado) Croissant. It's my usual. Michael had a craving for French Dip. So, that's what he got. And onion rings to share. (The bacon aioli sauce? Is pretty amazing. ... Yeah, I know. I could never keep Kosher.)

Saturday, the kids had their Primary Program rehearsal (well, not Bubbles, she's too little). We took Bubbles shopping with us. Michael needed new brown shoes (he's TOUGH on shoes. And clothes) and I was on a mission to find high-top Converse sneakers. Not just because they're awesome, but to support my gimp ankle.

We weren't finding anything good anywhere. Which made me pretty pissy for a bit.

We did (FINALLY) go out in the afternoon (after Bubbles' nap) to a local paint-your-own-pottery place to use Bucket's gift certificate she won this summer. And then we used Bruise's gift certificate to get dinner at a local pizza place (We only had to pay for drinks! Nice!)

After that, we headed back to the mall to check another store for high-tops ... and to get Michael's shoes. And I checked at Ross ... and there was ONE pair of Converse that fit and were $20 less than the others I was THINKING of maybe settling for. But I liked these better anyways. (And I now know what size I need, so I can always order a pair online, too. ^_^) So I have shoes that give me a little more confidence when I walk ... since I CANNOT handle being on crutches again anytime in the future.

The kids had their Primary Program on Sunday. Mom, my stepdad, Mom C, Grandma C, and Uncle D all came up (Dad C somehow hurt his foot/ankle. He had better get back on his feet, so I told Mom C, since there's only room in this family for ONE gimp. And I'm it.).
We impressed a brother in the ward, who noticed that we had four generations on one pew (Grandma C, her son [D, Dad C's brother], Michael, and the kids).
I had to introduce my mom in Relief Society (the women's class).
I, of course, did it with subtlety and restraint: " This is my mom, [Mom's name]. She's awesome. I get my awesomeness from her. It's totally hereditary."
It's a good thing that people at church are used to me.

While we were waiting for the High Priests (older men's group) to get done, Bubbles blew kisses to the brethren in there.
One of them mimed that her kisses hit him enough to bonk him against the door frame. And she (and Bruise and Bucket) laughed and laughed.
(For a nearly-two-year-old, she's got a rather sophisticated sense of humor.)

Mom and C (my stepdad) came over to visit and eat lunch before they had to head back home.
Michael and Bruise went and did some Home Teaching.
Then we had choir (and I sang the solo in practice ... and, oh, it was not my best at all. If you're in choir with me, please accept my abject apologies. Did I mention that I'm fighting the plague? It's not the best excuse ... but it's a legitimate one.) and I had a RS Board meeting afterwards ... and Kim (who was giving me a ride home) and I stopped by a friend's house to return her coat ... and help her put a bedskirt on. And then we chatted for a bit ... since that's what we do.

Yesterday was Veterans' Day. My friend, T, and I FINALLY got together. She brought her son, J, over and we all went to a local parade. She and I made Doctor Who jokes and admired the reenactment/vintage clothing. We ran into her sister-in-law (who had marched in the parade ... She's a drummer in my alma mater's band). It was really fun to get to catch up a bit.
Being a grown-up is haaaaard, since you have to work around work schedules (her), kids' schedules (us), and college classes (her). But it's worth it ... when we can make it happen. ^_^

Bruise-ism of the month:
He and I had sat down to read together (out of MY Childcraft books that I got when I was in first grade. And, OH, I love them. They're my precious and I read them a LOT when I was growing up).
I picked the one about "The World and Space."
And Bruise made the observation, "The planets are like islands, space is like the ocean, and the stars are the reflections on the water."

Yup, my boy is a poet.
He's definitely a boy -- loves video games, LEGO, swords, Star Wars ... but he is so tender-hearted and sweet.

Bucket is often a girly-girl -- She's more into dolls and art and fashion (She's a FASHIONISTA). She can be a bit shy, but she can definitely hold her own around boys. She does enjoy LEGO, but she's more into watching shows and reading. And she loves to laugh.

Bubbles is like Bruise in being a people-person. She LOVES music (one reason she loves to watch Daniel Tiger is that there's so much music.She also loves Baby Einstein. And, for a while, when Michael was watching Star Trek episodes, she'd RUN so she could watch/listen to the opening theme of TNG. And she'd be MAD if she didn't get to hear it.She also is our most adventurous eater. She is not deterred by spicy foods. She also KNOWS that she's adorable -- probably since everyone fawns over her.
And, like her mother and sister, she's very into shoes.
(As we were trick-or-treating, we came up to a display window for one of the shoe stores in the mall. And, as Michael had to point out, she was ENTRANCED. "She's YOUR daughter." ... Though, really, in temperament, she's very like her dad. He was a perfect baby. I was NOT.)

I should read through a ton of library books (a ton = maybe ten). And I should get laundry and dishes done. And the living room vacuumed again. And make that THRIVE order. And read my scriptures, say my prayers, plan my Visiting Teaching, plan dinners, go grocery shopping, stop complaining constantly about my stupid gimp ankle ... Yeah. And I should get a shower today. And take a nap, since that blasted cough kept me from sleeping much (and kept Michael from sleeping as well as he could. *sigh*)

I think that's about everything to report for now. Unless I lose 50 lbs in the next couple days or something. (Don't I wish! :P)

Just .... stuff.

So, yesterday was pretty okay.

• Got the kids ready for a field trip (I didn't go ... Didn't get into the shower until, um, 2? Yeah, kinda lazy day).
• Battled the freaking ants again. Stupid ants. I hates them. I hates them, MY PRESSSSSSHUSSSSSSS.
• Michael and I watched last week's SYTYCD online.
  "Are you sure you should watch this [being a very sentimental clip about a contestant] on your period?"
  Also? Adam Shankman is ADORBZ. I pink-puffy-heart that man. I just want to give him a squeeze and tell him how darling he is. Because he's TOTALLY darling and sweet.
• Michael also was watching a movie preview on his phone.
  "Is that Stanley Tucci," I ask from across the room.
  "Yup. Good job. And Nathan Fillon is in it, too. You'd probably like this one."
  Turns out that it's the next Lightning Thief movie ("Sea of Monsters") ... and it has Sean Bean and Anthony Stewart Head (aka, Giles from BTVS) ... so I'm looking forward to it, as a fangirl of most of the cast. ^_^

Today, I got the kids off to school, got showered and dressed (go me, right?), picked up a friend's daughter from school, got home JUST in time to meet the exterminator (free inspection ... sounds like the ants are probably nesting in our walls. JOY. But they can take care of that.), went to an appointment for WIC, got home, the kids came home, I called my Nana ...

And... I feel like a huge jerk. I called my friend to see if her doctor got (minor) surgery scheduled. And, well, I'm Compassionate Service Leader for my ward (congregation)'s Relief Society. And, so I'm kind of the one that organizes service (in this case, transportation for her kids ... split between 3 ladies, including me).

Her doctor FINALLY is getting her in for a visit. But my friend's been in pain for a while ... like, over a week. Maybe 1.5-2 weeks now. And I'm irritated at her doctor for this. Because, dude, she's hurting.
And, well, I think that my friend thought that I was irritated at HER ... so I feel like a JERK.

And I wrote her an email apologizing in case she felt that I was a jerk.

But I still feel like a complete and total donkeybutt jerk.

Which makes this a much harder day than it started out being.
It was just a kind of busy-ish day. And now I feel like a jerk because my friend cried and might feel that I think she's a burden (which I DON'T) ... but, well, when you're in pain and have been for a while ...
I ... I just ... I just don't want her to think that I was insinuating that she's a bother.
Because she's not. 

Bucket just made Perler Bead creations for her teachers ... I had to iron them.
Something smelled strange over there. I asked the kids if either of them farted (no).
I remarked that something smelled kinda like cat poop.
"Well, it's not me." Bucket asserted. "I do not poop cats."

I needed that.

I made dinner. That's an improvement.
It's kind of amazing what happens when I just throw nearly-random cans into a pan.
(Tonight: boneless chicken tenderloins cooked in chicken broth and tomato sauce, with coconut oil and Italian herbs. Served with brown rice cooked in water, with coconut oil and a dash or two of Fiori salt, which smells amazing, as far as salt goes.)

We'll see if Bruise and Bucket eat. Maybe.

I got a hair donut (it's a mesh circle to do some hairstyles, like a BIG, poofy-type bun with my shorter, fine hair) yesterday. Did up my hair ... I asked Michael later if he liked my hair.
"Did you color it?"
No. Not at all. But nice guess.

Well, SYTYCD is on tonight. That'll be nice.

And we should go grocery shopping tonight. Fun, fun, fun. Since Bubbles went down for a nap not THAT long ago. *sigh*
(She likes to watch SYTYCD, too, by the by. It's pretty cute.)

So ... yeah. Maybe we'll get the ants the heck outta my house. That'd be nice. And shark week is drawing to a close.

Tomorrow is Amanda F's funeral.
Michael and I are going.
I kind of wish that I had some Valium ... because, face it. We all are sad that she's not here anymore.
But I don't want to take any chance of causing a scene. Because, as egocentric as I can be, this is NOT at all about me.

It'd be a whole heckuva lot easier for my life if I didn't look like hell when I cry. If I could be one of those pretty criers. But, no, it's BAD when I cry. And this is about AMANDA's life, not "Omigosh, are YOU okay, Allanna?"

Hopefully, with shark week on the ebb, I can handle myself.

Maybe I should have Michael give me a blessing so that I can shake these stupid angry bees that hate me in my head. (Thanks, Mother Nature. NOT.)

Yeah, I'm just getting irked at myself. I don't do well throwing myself a self-pity party. I start to really get sick and tired of my own mental bellyaching ... because, well, unlike the rest of you lucky people, I'm stuck with my inner monologue.

(Oh, yeah. I also threw some balsamic vinegar in with the chicken.)

So, yeah. That's the last couple of days in a nutshell.

Thanks for letting me vent.
I'm sure that it was perfectly ENTHRALLING (not).

It'd be nice to have a clever title ... But, well, yeah ...

This is going to be a kind of random-type post.
Since I haven't blogged for a week, and I keep meaning to blog, I feel obligated to do it.
BUT, what with Bubbles being a PUNKBUTT last night, I don't have a lot of sleep (She went to sleep BEAUTIFULLY around 8. Then woke up SCREAMING about midnight. And whenever we'd put her back down -- after a diaper change and feedings, cuddles, more feedings -- she'd scream again. So, she spent the rest of the night in our bed, where she FINALLY conked out after a HALF-HOUR nursing session).

So, I'm sure that Michael is dead tired. I'm not feeling much better (even though I get, like, a couple hours more sleep). Bubbles has a well-baby check-up this afternoon ... let's just hope that I'm coherent enough to drive safely and conscientiously.

This weekend, as we were at Mom and Dad C's (the kids stayed overnight, so that we didn't have to scramble so much in the morning before Saturday's dress rehearsal ... more on that later), Bruise said to Michael (in reference to these little, bitsy mugs that Mom C has on display. Each of them has the name of one of her children) ...

Bruise: Dad, when you die, can I have your cup? So I can remember you. Because you're not around much. But Mom is.

Yeah ... Michael works hard (and long hours) for the money. And there's always a sacrifice to be made.
At least, with both of us in Savior of the World, I get to see him. But, yeah, the kids have been getting a glimpse before we leave ... and they're often asleep when we get back home.
This coming week is going to be worse ... since Michael'll be headed directly to church (where we perform) after work. But it's the last week ... and it'll be better after that.
And, in about five weeks, we'll have a family vacation ... and we'll get TONS of time together. Which will be REALLY nice. No stage make-up involved!

Let's see ... what else is going on?
In rehearsals, unless we're saying an aside to another character, we HAVE to FACE THE AUDIENCE. I'm remembering more and more to do it. I did flub up once onstage during rehearsal on Saturday ... however, I was also called out for doing it right (and being one of the people that the sound guy LOVES for doing it right), "One gal is picking fruit ... AND SHE TURNS and delivers her lines."
I'll try not to let it go to my head. ^_^

My costume kept changing, too. At first, I had my dress and two headwraps. Then there was a belt and an outer robe added. Then a scarf added. Then they changed the robe and outer headwrap. And then they changed headwraps on me ... And the belt isn't the same as I started with. But I think we've got it now. I have the original (jade-colored) dress with a striped robe and matching sash. There's a peach headwrap and a grey wrap that I mostly wear as a cowl-type collar. And I keep my original head covering (which, due to it's softness and texture, I refer to as "my dishrag") as a "pocket," hanging off my sash.

I do have to laugh, though. The grey cowl was part of Trish's costume in Act One (which we performed together in back in December 2011). And SHE is wearing my overskirt from that act. We snicker about that when we're not referring to each other with our Ancient Israelite gangster names (ModgePodge, since I'm MOJ [Mary, Mother of James] in the script, and MagDog [for Mary Magdalene]). Good times.

Also, I tripped going up the stage steps before rehearsal started on Saturday morning. I almost didn't catch myself, so I was THISCLOSE to falling backwards down the stage, which would have hurt a megaton.

SO, getting back to talking about dress rehearsal, Michael and I were there at 8, to get our makeup started (and completed) with time to spare, since we both have character makeup -- He ends up looking like a mountain man, what with his beard and mustache and the CRAZY DARK eyebrows they draw on him.
I am aged to look at least ten years older ... Our makeup takes time to get done. And we're not the only ones getting this treatment.
Oh, and I'm in the first scene, so I HAVE to have mine done and get dressed in time ...

We had two makeup gals who didn't come -- well, one did, to tell the others that she won't be able to do it. She needs to take it easy on her knee ... and it wasn't working. The other couldn't get childcare ... So, we were down two makeup gals who help get everyone through the line. And we only had one gal (the main one) who is practiced at character makeup. So she's totally swamped ... and stressing about getting everyone else through and done.

She did confide in me later that she really would have been glad if the other two gals had called earlier so that she'd have a chance to find replacements ... And, I can't blame her. It would have been more responsible. I also know how it feels to be on the end of scrambling to get childcare at the last moment. It wasn't a good situation from any angle.

BUT! We were dressed and made up and ready for our cues. And, really, I think that it went pretty well.

In other happenings that went on last week, the kids (Bruise and Bucket) had their school music program. I went to the rehearsal for it and recorded it. Bruise was doing okay. Bucket, though, was hiding behind the girl next to her and not singing and ... well, she, my mom, and I had a talk about it. My mom (who, yes, spoils her grandkids a bit), promised them that if they did good things at the concert (e.g., sing well, do the hand motions, DON'T HIDE, etc.), she'd give them a nickel each time she caught them being good. BUT, if they were not doing what's right, they'd have to pay HER a penny for each time.

In short, they both got $5. So did Bubbles. AND, to top it off, they both were remarking on how it was really fun and NOT AT ALL SCARY.
SHOCKER!

I mean, it's not like I told them EXACTLY THAT OR ANYTHING.
(That sound you just heard? That was my eyes rolling so much that they FELL. OUT. OF. MY. HEAD. I think they're in the kitchen now. Hard to tell.)

But, thankfully, a family friend recorded that performance for us. And, Michael and I made it to rehearsal ... and Bruise and bucket had a lot of family show up to watch them -- Mutti, Bubbles, Mom and Dad C, Grandma C, and (Great-)Uncle D. So, it went really well. ... And, by that point, I was a bit less crazy-with-hormones-and-angry-bees-in-my-head. So between having the performance recorded, having a lot of family there to support them, and having gone to the rehearsal, I was feeling MUCH better. Phew!

Backstage, on the first dress rehearsal night (Tuesday), I became QUITE popular.
I'd like to say it's all due to my quick wit and myriad charms ... but that'd be a lie.
It's really due to the fact that I had make-up wipes and fashion tape (strong double-sided tape).
Yes, I do come prepared! And I am willing to share ... since that's part of being a theater-type person. Your costars are family. (I mean, heck, in high school, most of us were used to getting dressed all together in the costume room ... You saw EVERYONE in their skivvies. And it wasn't any kind of a big deal. ... Though, if you wore a thong, you'd get dressed with your back to a wall. Or, in my case, you'd wear boxers over.)

But the nice thing about this performance, since I now have a turban-type headwrap?
I don't really have to do my hair at all. WINNER!
(Though, I do pull it back into a low-key updo, so it's out of the way when someone helps to do my wrap.)

.....

I can't believe that March is already more than half-way over! With how busy we've been, the days are flying by.

There's a musical production that'll be done in July to celebrate 50 years of the Church in the Willamette Valley. Yeah ... no. We're not going to audition. We'll go see it, of course. But we NEED some time to decompress.

Five more days and I can make out with Michael again. And I can paint my fingernails and toenails any way I want. I can color my hair however I want.

I will say that, from watching so many make-up videos and reading so much online, I am pretty awesome at helping the guys to know how to take care of their skin. Most guys never think to moisturize. (Now I can only think "Moisturize me! Moisturize me!" 50 gold stars if you get the reference.) I've shared moisturizer and I do tell them that olive oil is thebombdotcom in a pinch.
Before Michael and I went to this last dress rehearsal, I had us both slap on some coconut oil before jumping into the shower ... and rubbing in some jojoba oil on top of that. With tea tree oil on any trouble spots. And that's when I'm not making us do an oil cleanse for the face (currently, I have grapeseed oil mixed with castor oil. Rub it in, steam your face [I use a hot, damp washcloth] and then scrub it off with the washcloth). Good times.
He's lucky I don't break out the mud masks ... which I might after all the performances are over. Theater makeup is THICK and rough on your complexion.

Oh, so last night, we were making some geeky jokes. It culminated with me coming into the bathroom and announcing that I was turning on the light in there (since it's dark, I give a warning ... and no, it was NOT "Brace yourself, the light switch is coming." ... Though I'll have to remember that one....)

Me: Okay ... LUMOS!!
Michael: You know that the mark of a great wizard is being able to do spells without speaking.
Me: Jealous, Muggle?
Michael: You are such a nerd.
Me: *laughs* Yes. You know it. ... We are so, so special. It's at times like this that I wish they did a show about us. ... Though I'd have to put on clothes more often. I couldn't just hang out in my underoos all the time.
Michael: I don't mind.

Like I said, we are special, special people.
Especially when we use geeky references with each other (Even though I haven't seen all that much Doctor Who, I can make a lot of references and recognize a lot of references. Same with Game of Thrones [Still need to read the books]. And a lot of movies that I haven't watched, but are referenced often in memes). Or when we give each other the Shawn/Gus fist-bump ... which is pretty dang often.

Yeah ... we're special people. Who just seem to be rather perfectly-matched.

(The other night, Michael came home ... after I was being all cranky and b-word-y ... and thanked me for being a good wife. And I was all, "Um, thanks ... I've been kind of a  jerk today. But I'm glad that you're happy." Yeah, our goal is to always be friends. And I think that we do a good job on that.  Even though, as I told him, I am not all that romantical or horny-as-crap ... but I'm glad that he puts up with me regardless. ^_^)

Oh ... I tried going shopping for jeans, since two of my favorite pairs ended up with holes in the inner thigh section. Ugh. ... Apparently a lot of stores don't cater to my size ... and, even when they do? Well, my shape is all wrong (thanks Bruise and Bucket! You stretched out my stomach enough that it's WEIRD!. Good thing I still love you!).

I tried on a pair of pants that promised "slimming and shaping."
Yeah, if the shape you're going for is camel toe.
Niiiiice.
NOT.

But, yeah. After three attempts where I ended up crying each time (I'm NOT going to cry right now. it's just that the inside of my nose went all prickly. Not going to cry), I ended up buying three t-shirts. At least they fit and look nice and are soft.

Ugh. Stupid body and stupid designers and stupid culture where it makes me feel like a giant land whale because I'm not a size 2 or 0 ... Ugh. Stupidstupidstupid.
And stupid hormones that make it HAAAAAARD for me to deal with the fact that maybe I should just go get a tummy tuck and lipo and staple my stomach closed since I like food a HELL of a lot more than I like exercise.

Oh!! Speaking of food!!!
(Yeah, nice segue there, right?)
BUT!!!! At Denny's they are having Baconalia ... Michael and I totally went.
He had the burger with bacon and pepperjack cheese and jalepenos. I had the caramel French Toast stuffed with white chocolate and bacon spread. I wasn't wild about the white chocolate. It was a little more like shortening than chocolate-y. But the bacon was EXCELLENT in cutting how DANG SWEET the French Toast was. It was really tasty.
AND!!
I also had the Maple Bacon Milkshake ... that was really, really good.
The first taste is all sweet, creamy maple ... then  you have the smoky, savory bacon taste.
And there are bits of bacon in there!
The bits are usually too big to pass through the straw, so at the end, I was spooning the remains of the shake into my mouth.

Michael: Is it good?
Me" *giddily* Ah haa a maafuu uh BAACAAA! ("I have a mouthful of BACON!")

And THIS is another reason why I'll never be a size 0 (or 2 or 4 or 6 ...)
Because how can I manage THAT when there is BACON in the world?

And cheesecake. Gotta remember cheesecake. And Cherry Coke. And Doritos. And pizza with spinach and mushrooms ... Oh, wondrous mushrooms!

I mean, look at Paula Deen ... She's not a stick figure. And she's HAPPY.
I'll just keep my blood sugar up. It's all good.
And I'll wear sweatpants or something, instead.
Yeah.
Maybe yoga pants ... if they have a pocket for my phone.
Yoga pants are a little classier, right? >.<

Bubbles' Birthday Bash! And other things. Mostly the other things.

Yesterday was Bubbles' birthday ... and we had her party on Saturday so people could come (and most of the people who said they'd come did! When people RSVP, it makes it SO FREAKING MUCH EASIER. Just saying!).

I had the house clean enough (not like I'd ever get it perfect ... and, even if I DID, having three kids in the house would assure that it would NOT stay perfect after a few minutes) ... and we got pizzas, soda, cake, ice cream, a veggie tray, apple slices (and a cream-cheese-based dip that I had wanted to try) ... everything was store-bought, which makes it WAY easier.

Since we couldn't find balls to make a ball-pit for Miss Bubbles, we blew up a shload of balloons ... which worked out being excellent. And a LOT cheaper.

I also found cute little pseudo-luminaries with fake votive candles, which we used on the table. And we hung up a little banner. And had plates and napkins with dots on them.

Bubbles is such an easy-going little miss that it's easy AND hard to get stuff for her. She likes everything ... but it's not like there's anything that she goes completely ape-crap crazy for ... So, yeah.

She got books and clothes and a doll and some toys and a pair of boots ... and she likes it all.
She also got to have a little layer cake all to herself ... and she ate SO much frosting.
Bubbles also got her first set of (Duplo) Legos ... which, of course, she likes.

The cousins that came all seemed to have a good time.

At the end of everything, we were tired ... but it was good. Nothing too crazy.

Now that her party is over, I'm starting to wonder what else to stress about do. We have SOTW (Savior of the World) coming up in a couple weeks. I'm still volunteering once a week at the school. There's an upcoming family vacation. And Spring Break.

I'm thinking of starting to work on the house. We've been here for over five years ... and ... well, I'd like it to start FEELING like a place that I LOVE. Don't get me wrong. I like our place. I spend a ton of time here ... but there are things that I could do.

We need different curtains. I want to have a proper backsplash. Our bedroom is not the most restful place, with all the clutter ... And I'm the guilty one. I'm a terrible packrat. I know. BUT ... I just am to the point where I really am ready to start deciding on colors (and stop being a coward ... it's only paint. If I hate it, it's not going to cost thousands of dollars to redo.) and start making this house a place that I can really handle having people over.

I'm still sitting at the computer desk that my folks bought at Wal-Mart for me to take to college when I was moving into an apartment with friends. It has seen WAAAAAAAY better days.
... I'm thinking ... what if I find a cute used desk, repaint it, find a way to store the filing cabinet under it, have Michael put some shelves -- maybe even a cabinet-- on the wall above ... and have a much more interesting and lovely desk area?

Another thought, I have clothes that haven't fit me for, well, around a decade. I need to go through them  and save only the coolest things (as opposed to the t-shirts that shrunk lengthwise and are baggy/shapeless everywhere else) ... I can put those things away for when Bucket and Bubbles get to be teenagers (RETRO!! Hey, I was SO SAD that I only got a vest from my mom's collection and NOTHING from my grandmothers' closets -- they never kept much. If they'd had ANY idea that their granddaughter was going to be CRAZY INTO vintage, I know they'd have set some stuff aside for me). But, for the rest of it, I can clean out the closet and actually start filling it (not FULL-full, mind you!) with things that work for me NOW. Which would save a ton of room ... and make getting dressed a LOT easier.

I mean, I'm actually thinking of getting rid of some BOOKS ... YES, I  KNOW!!! But, well, this house is getting stuffed with things that I just am not using. And ... I look at the decorating-pr0n that is YoungHouseLove ... And, well, it'd just be REALLY NICE to get a house that I love every inch and it easier to clean and makes me happy to look at what I've done. ... And, well, I know that we're not going to be in this house FOREVER. Either we'll sell it to my mom or we'll find something else (we do talk of -- SOMEDAY -- buying the adjoining lots and putting something bigger on here ... AND having a good-sized yard).

Regardless, I'd like to make this place a good house with restful colors and everything.

And, I need to find a way to consolidate the kids' clothes enough (and the set-up in there) so that we can move Bubbles' clothes (and makeshift dressers) out of our room.

And, really ... I've gotten so used to being rather lazy ... But doing things where I can SEE results QUICKLY ... that's rather tempting. (As opposed to exercising ... where I feel AWFUL and sweaty and everything ... and, somehow, after exercise, I look down and where are those washboard abs? So depressing!)

But, yeah ... it's really nice to have the birthday parties over. And to have a LITTLE breathing room.
Most of the breathing room will be back by March 24th. Our evenings will be ours again ... and Michael won't be sporting EPIC BEARD and the MUSTACHE OF DOOM ... or the white boy 'fro.
He bought a hat for our family vacation ... while I was checking out at Jo-Ann Fabric, he took the kids out to the car ... and put on his hat.
When I came out, I got really confused. ... That LOOKED like our car. But who was in the front seat? There's some grizzly-looking gunslinger ... Oh! Never mind, that's my husband. The man I've slept next to nearly every night for the last 4, 364 days.

Yeah ... I saw him at church (we took different cars/arrived at different times due to his meetings before and after church this week) ... totally didn't recognize MY OWN HUSBAND. *rolls eyes*

Well, I'm trying to get Bubbles to take a nap ... which she is NOT. AT. ALL. amenable to ... and I should do the dishes and the laundry and a million other things ... and plan dinners, since there are THREE rehearsals this week (and FOUR next week ... then FIVE performances ... I do enjoy doing theatre ... and I really like the opportunity to get to know other people in the Stake/other wards ... but, goodness, I am ready to have time with my family all together, to not have to find sitters, to not take the chance of having to MISS my kids' music presentation ... *sigh* I can do this. I can get through this. And I will. It'll all be FINE. Soon. ^_^).

But, yeah ... Hey, I'm trying to blog more often. That should mean something, right?

No, not dead. Just alternately busy, crazy-stressed, or lazy

So, let's see ... what all's happened since I blogged?

• Bubbles-fish passed (on Valentine's Day) ... which  had us cleaning the fish tank like CRAZY.
  We have just two fish now - Iris (Black Moor goldfish) and Emmy (emerald Cory catfish). ... And Iris is sitting at the bottom of the tank a lot. I hope it's just constipation ... since she is swimming around a little. Just not as much as usual.
  (By the by, water levels are looking GOOD. So it shouldn't be the water. Since we just cleaned the tank, too. BEFORE she started acting tired.)
• But, going with that last bullet-point, the only Bubbles I'll be writing about is our youngest daughter.
• Bucket had a dentist appointment. One cavity (VERY SMALL) filled ... and sealant to coat her six-year molars. Bubbles and I played in the waiting room while it was all done.
• We went bowling with one of the kids' friends from school (and his mom and little sister) on President's Day ... which is fitting, since there's a bowling alley in the White House. We didn't go to that one ... but we figured that we were channeling our inner Nixon by bowling. It was fun. 
• We called my Nana for her 82nd birthday. She's learned that she can hear a lot better on the other phone ... so it was a much better conversation than usual. I should call her more. A lot more.
• I made it to the VERY END of the Relief Society meeting (that was going on at the same time as SOTW rehearsal). But they DEMANDED that I take some of the chocolate goodies home with me. And ... well, I live to obey! (I shared with Michael, too. So, OBVS, I'm a very good wife.) Yummmm.
• I learned on Tuesday that the kids are having their once-a-year school musical program.
  AND it's on the night of a dress rehearsal.
  I asked our director if Michael and I could attend THAT ... but, since the newspaper is coming that week, she was leaning towards "no." ... And, well, you probably have picked up how NOT GOOD I am with disappointment (and there's the fact that I have the sinus-thing again AND I've not been sleeping well ... and I feel like a failure for missing the kids' events -- like when, last year, I was in the hospital on their birthday with a stupid kidney stone), so I TRIED to compose myself ... and utterly failed.
  BUT, thanks to awesome people and modern technology, we have a plan.
  IF the newspaper covers the play the night before the concert, I will go to the concert.
  If not, I won't ... but REGARDLESS, my mom and Michael's folks will take the kids and hold Vesper. Mom will use our video camera (SEE? Michael's brilliant for getting that for me!) to record the concert for us (since Michael probably won't be able to make it). AND one of Bruce and Zoë's nursery leaders has offered to tape it, too. As backup ... and she'd love to see them perform, too. (YES, awesome people).
  Also, a lot of the gals gave me hugs ... which was really sweet of them. One of the younger girls gave me a hug and asked me, "Did you pray about it?" Which was VERY impressive. We have amazing people in this production.
  The director did email me and apologize for upsetting me and told me that she wouldn't judge me for whichever decision I made (to attend the kids' production or the dress rehearsal). I apologized back for my behavior, which was not as professional as it should have been, and let her know that if they need me there, for the newspaper's story, I can be there ... otherwise, I'll probably go see the kids' concert ... since, well, it is the only one that year.
• I did learn, though, from their teacher yesterday, that I could attend the dress rehearsal. Which is a great thing, too. 

I've been having really weird dreams ... and I keep waking up feeling exhausted.
Then I ask Michael if he thinks that I have sleep apnea ... HAVE I BEEN SNORING?!?!?
And he tells me, "No, you haven't been snoring. You're just stressed out."

And why am I stressed?

• Well, we're planning a family vacation ... but I'm reaching the stage of "Okay. We're going. It's going to be awesome. And we have lodgings for EVERY NIGHT. Okay, come what may!"
  (As opposed to a family vacation where the person who booked lodgings didn't book the last night's stay. That lead to QUITE a bit of excitement. And I'm still bitter that I lost my shampoo, conditioner, and (MOST IMPORTANTLY) my Dirty Girl body wash. I loved that stuff!*sigh*)
• Bubbles' birthday party is TOMORROW. The house is now MOSTLY clean ... but there was the fact that I had to CLEAN the house.
  For the rest of it ... well, I'll make a smash cake for her tonight. And we'll buy a cake and ice cream and stuff for lunch tomorrow. I've refinished the dining room chairs ... the old covers that L and I did about two years ago were ripping. Now, instead of plain brown covers, the chairs have cute brown and owl vinyl on the seats. Very cute ... but I'm still getting used to them. ^_^
• I know that we're going to have to replace the kitchen fridge. And it's a very specific size. Which means that it's hard to find a fridge that will fit ... in face, we'll have to downsize by a couple cubic feet. Which is hella frustrating.
• Still fighting off the ants. But, thankfully, all the bug spray (some of it's organic and safe enough to eat!) seems to be working. ... Well, judging by the number of ant corpses that I keep finding. *ugh*
• I still suck at reading my scripture and praying. And exercising. 

But, in good news, we've preordered some awesome movies!

• I'll be getting season/series three of Downton Abbey ... so I can be all caught up (well, I have to watch my DVD of Season Two. ... Shut up. I'm getting to it!) this coming week.
• Amazingly, The Hobbit is already going to be on DVD. We should get it by our anniversary ... so, once the play is over, the whole family can snuggle up as we watch a bunny sleigh the start of an epic quest and listen to Benedict Cumberbatch growl ... Seriously, I'm tickled that Freeman and Cumberbatch are in another series together. 
• And, a few days/a week after that comes in, we should receive Les Miserables. So good. I've only been listening to it for the last twenty years ... only seen it performed live twice ... only going to watch this DVD until it gets a hole burned into it from the laser ... what?

And, not too terribly long after that, we have a vacation! And the kids are going to be so excited! (And I'll go on a lot of rides with them, since they are tall enough for almost all the rides! (Six inches too short for the big roller coaster at one place ... but that's it!)

My kids also say cute things ... Well, Bubbles isn't QUITE talking yet. She's vocalizing ... but not to the point where I can brag about her wit or sense of humor. ;P

We were reading Lloyd Alexander's The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man. At one point, Bucket turns to me and says, "A woman wants to marry a cat?!? *singsongs* AWKWARD!!"
I burst out laughing ... which meant that for the next three minutes, Bruise AND Bucket tried to get the same reaction out of me.

Bubbles really likes peek-a-boo ... however she can get it. Sometimes, she'll just do the motions of pulling something (say a blanket) over her head ... when she's not holding a blanket. :P
But, for the most part, she'll wave and give kisses (wide, open-mouthed ones ... but, well, you can wipe that off!). She loves to give people "high five" ... and we're trying to teach her to pound it (you know, where to people put their fists together? I've also heard it called "knuckles").
She's walking all over.
Yesterday, she was walking through the kitchen, "reading" a board book (she was looking at it, anyways. At least she was holding it right-side-up!) ... then she got into the cupboard of pots and pans.
When I went to get a pan out for dinner, I discovered that she'd squirreled away some books in there!
(I can just tell myself that she's TRYING to put things away, right??)

Bruise's bottom teeth are coming in. No more new loose ones (that we know of ... yet).
Bucket is convinced that the teeth next to her front teeth will NEVER come in.
Bubbles has gotten in four teeth on the top and her two bottom teeth.
Those front teeth of hers have a crazy gap, though ... like Madonna. I'm hoping that they'll scoot a little closer together soon.

!!!!GIRLY TMI STUFF ALERT!!!!
So, last week ... dang, I was not feeling great. I was really itching ... It wasn't until I noticed that some, ahem, delicate skin tore that I figured out that I had a case of thrush. GREAT.
So, I got some medicine.
I have to say that the 1-dose stuff is AMAZING. I woke up the next morning and was all, "Oh. Something's different! What's different?"
And then I was able to figure out that I wasn't burning and itching in my ladybits.
Yes ... I'm out of touch with my body ... You'd think that after having a yeast infection for around a MONTH while pregnant with Bubbles, that'd I'd recognize the signs of it more readily!
Obviously not. Whoops!
----END OF GIRLY/TMI STUFF----

Besides that, I found a great pair of sandals for SOTW (since my pair from Part 1 ... well, they weren't too tight just because I was pregnant.) and I got a good deal on them. Michael's able to use his Birkenstocks (a present from my mom a few years back) ... so we're goo there. We just need to buy eyeliner (for both of us) and mascara (just for me) ... Twenty-two more days ... and then we have our evenings free again. And Michael will be clean-shaven ... and we can cut his hair ... and I can paint my toenails again.

Until then, well, we'll get through this ... just in time for Spring Break. Phew!

Let's just hope that my sinuses will get their figurative buns in gear and stop being all congested and gross. Because I'm ready to be done with that.

Good times, good times.

1,001 Posts

... and not an Pulitzer Prize for any one of them.

But, really, according to my lists of posts, I've written a thousand posts already. (Only took me, what, a decade. Imagine if I actually wrote a post every day!)

So, let's catch up ... What have we been up to? Um ...

• We go to church ...
• Michael's had rehearsal every Tuesday and Thursday (but he won't on Valentine's Day!)
  He was described, due to costuming and EPIC BEARD and the Mustache of DOOM, as either a "Norwegian Hunter" or William Wallace.
  I TRIED to talk him into painting his face blue and delivering the speech from "Braveheart" ... No dice. Oh well. It's not like I didn't try.
• Michael and I ran some errands on Friday, after he got home.
  I'm not all that impressed with Arby's Molten Lava Cake ... it's rather dry. Oh well.
• Saturday was more errands ... get ant spray and a new switch (one light switch, when turned on, was making this evil popping sound. Michael fixed it Sunday. Phew!), get Valentines for the kids' classes, get Bucket a new fish since Iris I died (So far, Iris II has been doing fine. Even when Bubbles-fish, who we NOW know is a boy, decided to chase her all around the tank.)
  
  Me: This isn't good behavior. ... It doesn't look like Bubbles is nipping her fins. *adds some food to try to distract Bubbles-fish. No go.* Why is Bubbles doing that?
  Bruise: *playing with LEGOS, matter-of-factly* Maybe Bubbles wants to make babies.
  Me: Huh. *looks it up on the Google. Yup. That's mating behavior, right there* Good call, buddy.
  
  So, yeah, apparently my kids are well-adjusted enough to handle animal husbandry. Okay. I must be doing something right. Right?
  
  We also visited with Michael's folks and headed back home to get ready (and attend) the kids' school's Family Valentine's Dance. There was a DJ and an crafts table, lots of cookies and sparkling cider (which is important in a minute). They put forth good effort into decorating the gym. They even had a couple gals from a local business come to teach some dancing. (Merengue ... I still really have NO IDEA what I'm doing. But I KNOW it involves fast marching.)
  
  Bruise danced Gangnam Style with me ... until I, like a beached whale, was out of breath and needed to sit down (Well, maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was wearing Bubbles in the Moby wrap. That does make dancing a bit more strenuous, wouldn't you think?) ... and I got Bucket out onto the dance floor for a little ... until all the aforementioned cookies and cider, combined with the jumping/bouncing around, made it necessary for us to make a hasty exit. Whoops! ... But she did learn a lesson (better NOW than when she's a teenager and trying to impress boys, right?) about not stuffing one's gob before dancing.
• Yesterday was mostly quiet ... I FINALLY watched Lifeboat (Alfred Hitchcock) while attempting to make some progress at the dratted puzzle that we bought for Christmas (SPOILER: Between Michael and me, we finished it last night. Now to fix that sucker so we never have to put it together again. ... In other, related news, I'm headed out to buy Heat-n-Bond today.
  Besides that, I've been working at getting through the laundry and dishes. They never end. And my mom and aunt are headed up this week ... so I'd LIKE to get things a little cleaner. We'll see how it goes.
  But I did vacuum the dining room yesterday ... so that's a start.

Well, I think that's MOST things that're standing out in my mind ... besides that fact that Miss Bubbles is taking steps now. She's babbling a little more, which is much preferable to her nasal whinings. :P

Okay, housework/duty calls. I'd better get stuff done. Then I can go out and grab some supplies

Wow ... I apparently suck at blogging now ...

So, when I LAST blogged, what, seventeen or so days ago ... it was catching up from Bruise and Bucket's birthday ... What all has happened since then?

We've been sick ... I was hit hardest, I think. Bruise and Bucket both missed a day or school (thank goodness for so many days off from school in January, or else they'd have missed more). Bruise lost his voice and had a cough. Bucket still coughs a little ... but nothing terrible.

Bubbles had a nasty runny nose ... but, since she's gotten so many teeth in, it's cleared up a bit.
She's now sporting her bottom two front teeth, her top two front teeth, and one to the side on the top.
She's also able to wave "bye-bye," give kisses and high-fives, clap her hands, and stand unassisted. She refuses to walk more than one step unassisted ... what can I say? She likes crawling! She also will dance/bob to music. If Michael's watching Star Trek on Netflix, she is ENTRANCED during the theme song.
She's talking a little more ... no real words, really. Not yet. But she'll say "Mamamamamama" or "Dadadadada" and "Nananananana" ... and "Kaah. And "Bahh." She's still really smiley and even-tempered for the most part. She takes at least one good (1+hour) nap, usually two, per day. And she's sleeping well during the night (well, when she's not fighting a cold or whatever).

Bucket lost two of her fish -- Fishy (a fantail) and Iggy (the plesco). I took it harder than she did. We're working at getting the tank in order so that Bubbles (yes, she has a fish who's name is the same as her baby sister's online persona) will have another aquatic friend. Right now, we're dealing with nitrate levels. Fun! (Not.)
Both Fishy and Iggy received "burials at sea" in the pre-dawn hours of the morning. But I hate for things to die.
(But I'm 99% sure that Fishy had a swim bladder disease, so it was just a matter of time. Poor bloated fish. ... Iggy, well, that could be due to nitrates or to not enough [correct] food. Poor Iggs.)

There's been quite a few rehearsals for SOTW ... My costume keeps getting revamped. I started with just a dress/sheath, belt, and headwrap. Now I have a kerchief under the wrap, a piece of cloth that (with my belt) forms a pocket), and -- as of last week -- a drape over one shoulder of the robe that's been added. I joked with Michael that if this keeps up, I'll be the Abominable-Layered Israelite on stage.

I totally nailed the line (vocalwise, but not lyric-wise) that I've been stressing about. But I did it. And it was nice and loud and on-key. So ... I have proved that I (even with sinus issues) can do it, to myself, at least. That's a relief.

We had arranged to take the older kiddos and a couple friends bowling ... but one of the friends who REALLY wanted to come got sick the night before. So we arranged to meet the other friend (and his mom -- truly, we adore their whole family) for frozen yogurt. We also took a get-well gift to their other friend.

Yesterday, I dropped off Bubbles (not Bubbles-fish) with Mom and Dad C and headed off to P-town to play with my Roxy. Depressingly, I'd realized that we hadn't seen each other in person since last APRIL. That is SAD. But we went to Uwijamaya (I'd never been before) and then to a little Korean shop, out to lunch at a Korean BBQ (I tried a bit of Roxy's spicy squid ... but I was happier with my Spicy Chicken Korean Bento, even when I dropped some on my lap. *rolls eyes* But I think I should get credit for eating a SALAD with chopsticks.). After that, we went to a little Thai market (so I could get Yellow Curry Paste) and a comics/games shop ... before I had to head off and pick up Miss Bubbles and head back home.

Michael was amazing -- took the kids out to Target (and bought me both seasons of the BBC's Sherlock) and got the fish tank's water tested. Then they swung back and picked up Bubbles and me (since we'd gotten home by then) and we went out to dinner. I got my Yellow Chicken Curry fix, the kids tried Chicken Satay and Pad Thai, Michael (of course) got his Drunken Noodles (as spicy as they make it!) ... and we splurged on dessert -- The kids shared fried bananas and ice cream. Michael and I split Coconut ice cream and coconut sticky rice. SO GOOD.

Michael just got back from helping two people/families move this morning.
As he and I were discussing our calendar (mostly our upcoming rehearsal schedule), I started to get all teary-eyed ... not because it's coming to an end, but, honestly, because I'm going to be so very tired.
I don't know how I'm going to manage getting the kids' lunches set up, taking care of Bubbles all day, volunteering at the school (one day that week), ... and the last performance is on our anniversary. I know that we aren't going to be doing anything special ... especially since our performance ends around 8:30, so we wouldn't get home until around 9 ... just in time for Michael to have me cut his hair and help his shave off the beard and mustache. (I'm really not into facial hair. My dad won a beard-growing contest when I was little. I'm used to it on other people ... but it's not something that I like on MY man. When asked about it, Michael proclaims, "She [me] HATES it!" ...And it's true that I don't care for it. It's not that it looks bad ... it's just that I don't like kissing him through it. If I wanted to have something springy against my face as I kissed someone, I'd have them hold up a Slinky.)

Bruise and Bucket are playing the Wii ... a Disney Princess game that Bucket got for Christmas. Bruise is such a good brother. At one point, HE was dancing along to a game ... because Bucket had asked him to play, too. (She's a good sister, too, even though she teases him a lot.)

I just had Bruise promise me that, when he's older (14 and up), if he goes to a dance and he sees a girl that's not dancing, that he'll ask her to dance. ... And then, I told him why:
When I was 17, I was alone on Valentine's Day. And I hadn't gone to the Stake (regional church) dance. BUT, two of my friends (a dating couple) called me and told me to come ... Aww! They missed me!

I went. And it was good to be there ... but, during the last dance, EVERYONE was on the dance floor for that last slow dance. Except for me. And, like, two boys.

Yeah. Nothing really makes you feel like something MUST be wrong with you than when you are obviously not as cool/pretty/whatever as any other girl there.
(I'm TOTALLY getting what Elizabeth Bennet was feeling when she berated chided Mr. Darcy for not dancing when so many girls were sitting out because they didn't have a partner for the dance.)
(But, really, this goes further ... since neither boy was wearing a cast or anything. So, it felt QUITE CLEAR that asking me to dance was beyond a service project. It would be JUST TOO MUCH to ask ... Yeah.
Obviously I still have issues with this, since I started to cry writing about it. Yes, I do have some serious issues with self-worth and ideas of my own level of attractiveness. I have good days and bad days ... and apparently, I've had better days than today.)

(An example of a better day? When my mom was driving me to a DIFFERENT church  dance. We were stopped at an intersection. A car with two guys my age were driving by the other way, through the intersection. I got a double-take. Oh, yeah. Sixteen-year-old me was quite a dish, apparently.)

I did also give Bucket the talk that if a boy asks her to dance at a church dance, she should accept. Or decline only with a real reason. And that there's nothing preventing HER from asking boys to dance. (And Bruise, if asked to dance, will accept. We're an equal-opportunity household here. Yeah. That's how we do feminism.)

So, yeah. There you go. Catching up and a bonus story of my myriad issues.

Starting out behind this year ...

Like usual, here's my chock-full-of-stuff catching-up post!

Okay ... so it looks like I last posted ... over three weeks ago. Whoops!

Let's see ... The kiddos' school had their "Winter Celebration." Which means that we didn't sing any carols ... BUT!! They had a gathering where teachers could read aloud to small groups. And there were books and board games that were given away to all the families (Thanks to a VERY generous group).
Bucket got a (vintage) Pound Puppies book. I don't totally remember which books Bruise or Bubbles got. But they all got a little book. And we got the Headbandz game, which the kids have enjoyed.

We rushed at getting the Christmas shopping done as soon as Michael got his bonus ... and it took us a little while to get everything together. Even though I was working VERY hard to compile a list of who all we were buying for and WHAT to give them.

Michael and I got new phones. And now my old phone (which still works ... mostly) is a toy for the kids. A nice little collection of games on there. And, YES, I really, really like my new phone (Droid Razr Maxx HD. It's nice to have a phone with a great battery life. And that texts people consistently. And that doesn't need to be consistently restarted/factory rebooted).

I also got a new computer chair (on a good sale), which Bubbles and I put together while Michael was at work and the kids had left for school. It's a good feeling to NOT almost fall out of your chair or worry that the arm is going to break off totally, dumping you and the infant on the ground/into the desk.

I helped a friend to set up a blog ... while I was there and we were passing Bubbles back and forth (she needed a nap. And wasn't getting one), my friend asked if Bubbles would like a graham cracker. Which I knew that she would ... so they went to the kitchen to get Bubbles a cracker to nosh on.
While my friend was opening the cabinet, her dog barked. While she was distracted, a can of pineapple glanced off of Vesper's eyebrow as it fell out of the cabinet. Whoops!
It was just a deep scratch. It's almost completely gone without scarring now.
(My friend felt AWFUL. I immediately latched Bubbles on to nurse, to get her calmed so I could look at what was bleeding. I asked my friend, who is a nurse, if it needed stitches. It didn't. So I was all, "Eh. She'll be fine. Let's get her calm and keep her hands off of it so it can clot. If she doesn't need stitches, I'm good."
We put a cool compress on it. It didn't even bruise!)

We did get a day of snow ... but not enough for the kids' school to be closed. It also was the same morning that Michael and I woke up to see that the power was out. He still went to work (since that's FAR enough away not to be affected). The kids and I lit candles (after poor Bruise was FREAKED OUT that the house was dark and none of the light switches worked. Poor guy.) and huddled under blankets as I called (on my old phone which was NEARLY out of batteries ... yeah, before we made the switch) the power company to find when the power would be restored. It came back on before the kids needed to head to school. (Then Bubbles and I headed over to help my friend with her blog in the aforementioned story.)

Michael had really wanted to take Friday, December 21st off. However, there was so much work that it wasn't feasible. So we just planned, anyways, on not heading down to visit family until the 22nd.

We packed that car FULL ... and, since the kids were getting lots of presents, we arrived back home with it FULL. In fact, it was so full, that we couldn't find my camera bag in there until yesterday! (Yeah, we've been busy.)

We visited my Nana, my dad and his girlfriend, and stayed at my mom and stepdad's for a few days.
(My stepdad ADORES Bubbles. He says it's because she's such a mellow baby. We think that it's also because there's only one. Twins can be a little overwhelming. Don't get me wrong ... he loves the older duo ... but he is completely enamored of Bubbles.)
We managed to take the kids to The Festival of Lights outside of Roseburg. I grew up in the Roseburg area ... and in the 18 years that I lived down there, I never managed to go once. But it was really nice. The kids enjoyed it a lot. It's a little spendy at $8/car ... but it was pretty awesome.
I did want to take the kids to the WildLights at Wildlife Safari ... but it was so cold and rainy. So we'll save that for another year.

After lunch and presents on Christmas Eve with my mom, stepdad, and aunt, we loaded up and drove out to the coast to spend Christmas with Michael's family at his sister's house.
We went to dinner at the Sizzler there ... where Bucket threw up. TWICE.
She came to me to take her to the bathroom ... and we raced, her with her hand over her mouth, dripping on the floor. And I ended up with two big splashes of vomit on my pants ... that I could see. AND SMELL.
Then, a few minutes later, she needed to go again ... and that time she didn't make it quite to the toilet.
We were in the bathroom ... but, golly.

As soon as we finished dinner and got back to T1's house, I gathered up the kids and put them all in a bath. I got them all settled in pajamas (with Michael's help ... as he worked at unloading the van as well), and then I jumped in the shower ... and, upon undressing, I found that I ALSO had a patch of vomit on the BACK of my jeans. WINNING. (Not.)

However, I felt a lot more human (and a lot less like curling in a corner and crying for being THAT MOM at Sizzler whose child puked TWICE. Yeah.) ... and we worked at getting the kids to bed and helping Santa with stockings, visiting with family, and getting to bed.

We were awake before any of the kids Christmas morning. In fact, I think we were up before anyone else. So we just chilled until people woke up ... for the present extravaganza!

Bubbles was not totally into her stocking ... until she got some crackers from it. ^_^

The kids all got a great haul from grandparents and cousins. We finally gave Bruise the Darth Maul lightsaber that we picked up on a great sale (Target Deal of the Day) months and months ago. He even used it for a staff when he, Bucket, and their baby boy cousin posed as a nativity scene (Bubbles and their other girl cousin there were in desperate need of naps ... and too wound up to take them. Whoops!). I like to joke that we refer to him as Joe-SITH.

Bucket liked the Barbie DVDs that I was able to pick up (Black Friday sales). They also really liked the other presents that they got, too.

We stayed Christmas night and took off the next morning. We drove up Hwy 101 and took the kids to the Newport Aquarium, which was a real treat. (Yes, we got a membership. We only have to go twice more to more than recoup the cost. AND with at least one trip, we can take grandparents, too. We asked Michael's folks if they'd want to come along with sometime this year. And they were very amenable.)

And we headed home and started unpacking ... and Bruise and Bucket started putting together their LEGO sets from Santa.

Freyja-cat was very happy to see us, after we were gone for five days. I'm glad to report that the Kitty Prozac did its job. There were no messes or bad smells to clean up. ... Just loads and loads and loads of laundry that I'm behind on.

We took the kids with us up to the Portland Aquarium (I had gotten passes a few months ago on a great discount via Sharing Spree ... It's like Groupon), which was very crowded. We had to park in a lot of a neighboring business. But it was fun. There's a LOT of hands-on tanks ... and, if you buy the food, you can feed the fish. Bruise got to pet a baby shark (a white striped bamboo shark, IIRC) and a ray.
I got to play with my Christmas present from Michael -- a video camera. (Seriously, Costco has great deals. We got one with a case AND an extra battery, with an 8GB memory card included. Which is a very nice thing.)

I also got to use my Christmas present from my mom -- a "whizzy stick!" ... It's an immersion blender with lots of attachments. I used the food-processor one to cut up carrots and pickles to put in tuna salad sandwiches last week. Yum. (And a nice way to get some extra vegetables!)
We call it a whizzy stick due to the Youtube videos of Titli's Busy kitchen ... since that's what she refers to her immersion blender as.

We also, while we were up in Portland, took the kids to IKEA. I picked up my IKEA Family card. We ate dinner there ... and we checked out furniture that we'd like to invest in ... when we have the truck and NO kids to transport that day. (Because we couldn't fit a couch AND the kids in the van at the same time. No possible way.)

And we stopped by the Washington Square Mall. I had a coupon for a free hand lotion at L'Occitane. And Michael and the kids went to the LEGO store. Bubbles, with me, flirted with the salesclerk at L'Occitane (He always pronounces my name correctly, so I already like him). She and I eventually moseyed over to The Body Shop ... and I snagged some body butters and a lip butter. Yeah, I like beauty products.
If I knew that I'd have that much time to kill while Michael and the kids were STILL in the Lego Store, I'd have also dropped into Lush to check out their stuff. ... As it was, I wheeled Bubbles (in her stroller) into Victoria's Secret to look at their lotions and body sprays.
I headed back to the LEGO Store ... just in time, so that Michael could snag the LEGO VIP card from my wallet.
Gotta love those VIP points! ^_^

We moved Bubbles out of our room and into the kids' room. Which meant that we had to rearrange their room (and buy a shelving unit to hold their tubs of dress-up clothes and such) ... so it's a lot more open in there, even with more furniture in there ... and there's an industrial-chic vibe with that shelving unit (Home Depot, what would we do without you?)
Bubbles has been sleeping pretty well (and deeply) in the kids' room ... which means that Michael and I are getting more sleep again.

We also picked up some sundries for home projects (new light for the front porch, house numbers so that we can put them in a spot where pizza/Chinese food deliveries can see them at night ... IMPORTANT stuff, you see?).

We also replaced out old (nearly twelve years) vacuum. We went for a less-expensive model ... though I'm tempted to try a Dyson someday. But our old bagless Hoover was a good worker for SO LONG ... we just got a newer Hoover. And a little handvac so the kids can help keep the Dining Room floor cleaner.

Michael spent the last couple days of his vacation with the flu: sore throat, fever, chills, aches. Not the stomach flu, but not feeling great at all. Poor guy. He wasn't feeling awesome this morning ... but he still headed into work. At least he's feeling a little better, right?

Funny conversation with Bucket, the other night:
She has a habit of naming stuffed animals after family members ... and she has a stuffed triceratops.
"Look, [Bubbles]! This is 'Daddy!'"
"Um, [Bucket], that'd be confusing to her. how about a different name?
"Okay ... how about Horny Daddy?"
"No. That's not appropriate. Let's find something else."

And NO, I didn't explain to her WHY "horny daddy" is not a good name for her stuffed animal ... however, I was VERY composed the whole time. Whereas, Michael was shaking with suppressed laughter.
Usually, it's the opposite.
Apparently, I was VERY tired.

Just now, Bucket made a card for Bruise, for his/their birthday.
Inside it, there's a picture of him as the earth, smiling. And she's the sun, smiling.
And she's putting me in there as a smiling Jupiter.
"What?? You're going to make me a GAS GIANT?? You should make me Saturn! Daddy like me so much he put a ring on it!!"
But she's not to be swayed ... I am a gas giant (*raspberries*) and Michael's Saturn ("Mom!! It looks like monkey ears!!! ... And [Bubbles] is going to be Pluto!!")

But, yeah, she's working herself up into a state.

The house is cleaner. I need to do another load of dishes and lots of laundry. But the floors are vacuumed (I need to vacuum the kids' room and our room. Sometime.) ... the hall bathroom is pretty clean. I need to clean the kitchen, our bathroom and bedroom (which hasn't been done in so long. *sigh*) ... And tackle the laundry room with its piles and piles of boxes to be collapsed and put in recycling. ... and all the laundry in there, too.

And let's not start on the state of my desk. Oy.

BUT! At least I've sent out the save-the-date for the kiddos' birthday to family. And Michael and I are getting plans put together for what to do.

I just need a few more days weeks to get the house clean and everything planned.

Oh!! Did I mention that Bubbles has cut her first tooth? It's in there! And it's a sharp little thing. Feels like her second tooth is not far behind. And I keep waiting for her top teefers to pop through, too.
Can you believe she's going to be ten months old tomorrow?

Bucket's started watching Invader Zim ... I can't complain (says the girl who told her husband, ala Gir, "I have to have tacos or else I'll explode! ... that happens sometimes." Yes, the fun we have when we go to Jack-in-the-Box).

okay, okay ... I'd better go throw another load in the dishwasher and washing machine. This house isn't going to clean itself!

Oh ... also I gave a talk at church on Sunday. I was TOLD that I'd be the first adult speaker (in the middle). I was the last speaker (so I needed to fill up the time ... good thing I prepared a 20-minute talk!). Yeah ... my topic was gratitude ... and GOSH, I'm SO grateful that it's over!! Then, after that, my kids' class didn't have a teacher. So I passed Bubbles to Michael and taught their class ... including a boy who said "Poop ... poop.... poop" throughout the opening prayer before our lesson. Then, after I told him that that was NOT reverent behavior (and we HAD just had a class trip to the bathrooms and drinking fountain), he screeched out, "I HAVE TO GO POOPY!!!!"
"Well ... then ... go to the bathroom." I told him.

And he did and got back to the classroom. And was all wiggly and distracting. Then he yells out, "MY BRAIN!!"
"Are you okay?" I ask (Earlier in Sharing Time, where the children's classes meet together, he snarled at my not to touch him after I had patted his knee. So I wasn't about to touch him against his will).
"I don't feel good! I want to go home!!!"

So, I left the kids for a minute (good thing that the other three are pretty self-sufficient and well-behaved) so I could take this one to the Primary President ... and she tracked down his family.

The rest of the lesson went quite well ... especially since I only had time to review it during Sharing time. Trial by fire, that was.

Yeah. Crazy times. If it wasn't ALREADY vacation, I'd ask for some vacation ... but, well, we see where that got me now, don't we?